109-Year-Old NC Resident Casts Vote On 1st Day Of Early Voting: ‘I Think It’s An Example To All Of Us’

Source: Rocky Mount Telegram 

A 109-year-old Battleboro resident proudly cast her ballot on the first day of early voting in North Carolina’s primaries. 

Cassie Smith, a young centenarian, made it a point to come out to vote on the first day of voting – inspiring others to exercise their right to vote.

“I think it’s an example to all of us — and it shows nobody has any excuses because clearly, as we see, someone had to bring her, but it was important enough for her to come,” Alicia Slaughter, a prosecutor in Halifax County, told Rocky Mount Telegram. “And it just does my heart well to see her here.”

Frank Smith, the son of Cassie Smith, agreed with Slaughter’s remark of his mother.

“If she’s 109 and can get out and vote, what’s wrong with the young people now these days? What’s wrong with them?” Frank Smith asked. 

A report by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, CIRCLE, at Tufts University, found that millennial and youth voters make up the largest, racially diverse group of potential voters in North Carolina, however, they have the lowest voter turnout of any generation.

“Their voice makes a difference,” Frank Smith told the Rocky Mount Telegram. “She [Cassie Smith] believes that. She always believed it. And now that should tell the young folks, ‘I need to get out and vote.’”

In-person early voting for the 2024 North Carolina primary election runs through Saturday, March 2. The 2024 primary election day is Tuesday, March 5, 2024. 

For sites and hours in all 100 counties, use the Early Voting Sites search tool. Also see Early Voting Sites for the March 5, 2024 Primary Election. 

For eligible voters who are not registered to vote in a county, you can register and immediately vote at that same site, also known as “Same-Day Registration”. Find more information at Register in Person During Early Voting.

North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Learn more information at Voter ID.

Need more information? Check out the NC State Board of Elections website here.